Longtai Longyan was furious. Suddenly he heard hurried footsteps outside, and heard someone saying: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is here." Then he heard someone shouting from a distance: "The Queen Mother is here!"
Longtai's face became even more ugly and he sneered: "I knew she couldn't bear it any longer." He signaled Qining to hide first. Qining was familiar with the road and hid behind the bookshelf again. As soon as Longtai returned to the imperial desk and sat down, he saw a figure. Coming in from the door, Longtai stood up and said, "Queen Mother!"
The Queen Mother snorted coldly and looked very ugly. She walked over and sat down and said coldly: "Your Majesty, I heard that you are going to send someone to Dong Qi?"
"My son is preparing to report to the Queen Mother...!" Longtai said calmly: "Old Minister Yuan of the Ministry of Rites also advised me to get married as soon as possible, so I discussed this matter with the superiors...!"
The Queen Mother didn't wait for him to finish speaking, and already asked: "I heard that someone from the Jinyi Qi family advised me to send someone to Dong Qi to propose marriage?"
"Yes!" Longtai said.
The Queen Mother stared at Longtai and asked: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask you, when you send an envoy to Dong Qi to propose marriage, is it the intention of the person named Qi, or is it your own intention, the Emperor?"
Longtai frowned, but still said patiently: "What does it mean that I don't know my mother's queen?"
"Your Majesty, I have told you a long time ago that the harem is also a part of the national government. Without a stable harem, the emperor will not be able to manage the government well, and the people will suffer." The Queen Mother said: "In order for the emperor to manage the government well, I will spend a lot of money. I have tried so hard to choose a suitable queen for you, but you never sympathize with my painstaking efforts. Every time I mentioned marriage to you, you always resisted. However, today at the court meeting, you were so straightforward that you actually wanted to marry a queen. The woman from Dong Qi came back to become the queen of my great state of Chu. Your Majesty, I would like to ask, what do you mean by this?"
"Since the queen mother knows about this, of course she knows the reason." The emperor tried his best to suppress his temper, but the clay figurine was still very rustic, and the young emperor was obviously a little impatient. "By marrying the princess of Dong Qi, I can form an alliance with Dong Qi, which will make me great." Chu can get time to recuperate and prepare for the Northern Expedition to destroy the Han Dynasty. This is a major plan related to national policy, and the queen mother should know better than her sons."
The Queen Mother sneered: "It's related to national policy? You've only been on the throne for a few days, and you're going to conquer the Han Dynasty in the north? The people of the Eastern Qi are very cunning, and they have both ends. By marrying an Eastern Qi woman as your queen, aren't you inviting the wolf into the house?"
"The Northern Expedition to destroy the Han Dynasty is the ambition that Emperor Taizu has set since the beginning." Longtai said: "Emperor Taizong, as well as my father, all regard this as the national policy of our great Chu. Although my son has been on the throne not long ago, his ancestors Of course, our ambitions must be continued. In order to complete the great cause of the empire, there is no need to worry too much about many things. As for marrying the princess of Dong Qi, it would be inviting a wolf into the house. My son does not think so. Since ancient times, there have been many in-law alliances between the two countries. , but things that cause trouble to the harem or even the country are rare." He said calmly: "The queen mother is in charge of the harem. Even if Princess Dong Qi really comes to my country, the harem will not be in chaos with the queen mother here."
The Queen Mother said: "It seems that you are determined to marry a woman from Dong Qi?"
"It's not that I'm determined, it's that this matter has been discussed by the court." Longtai said: "The envoys have been selected and cannot be changed."
The Queen Mother looked ugly, and after a moment, she finally said: "The Emperor wants to marry a woman from Dong Qi, and it seems that I can't stop it, but... the position of Queen must not be handed over to a Dong Qi person, just make her your concubine. "
"As a concubine?" Longtai said with a smile: "Mother, although Dong Qi is a small country, it plays an important role in today's world situation. Let Princess Dong Qi become the concubine of our great Chu. The queen mother thinks that the people of Dong Qi will agree. ?”
"If you don't agree, the marriage will be over." The Queen Mother said, "I have so many outstanding people in Chu, whether they are beauties or talented women. If I choose a woman from Dong Qi as my queen, I'm afraid the world will laugh at me."
Longtai shook his head and said solemnly: "Mother, I am the emperor, and I keep my word. Since the decree was announced at the time, is there any reason to retract it? If we really make Princess Dong Qi a concubine, not only will the alliance between the two countries not be reached, but it may even be possible If the Dong Qi people are angered and they turn to the Northern Han people, has the queen thought about the consequences?"
The Queen Mother sighed: "Your Majesty, do you know that all this is for your own good?" She stood up, walked over, stood at the royal desk and said: "Your Majesty, of course you remember that you can sit in this seat. For what reason?"
"If my mother doesn't remind me, I will remember it." Longtai said lightly: "Without the Ma family of Zhenguo Company, my position would probably belong to someone else."
"It's good that the emperor knows." The Queen Mother said: "Your Majesty, Duke Zhenguo is the pillar of the imperial court. He is loyal to the emperor. As long as Duke Zhenguo is around, there will be no worries about state affairs. If Sima Wanqiong is made queen, the Sima family will He will definitely work hard and swear allegiance to the imperial court. Compared to the small country of Dong Qi, the emperor should pay more attention to the Sima family." He sighed softly: "The emperor also knows in his heart that some people are worried about the emperor's succession to the throne, and they are always saying goodbye. There is no such thing as the Duke of Zhenguo, the Emperor...!"
Longtai didn't wait for the Queen Mother to finish speaking, and already smiled and said: "Without the Duke of Zhenguo, my dragon chair will not be stable and will be occupied by others at any time. Is this what the Queen Mother means?"
The Queen Mother was startled, frowned slightly, and Longtai said calmly: "Mother, I have granted the title of duke to the Sima family and inherited the title of marquis. The Sima family now has one duke and one marquis. Looking at the court, I am afraid that no one is as glorious as the Sima family. In addition, I have also checked the list of rewards listed by the Duke of Zhenguo one by one, but I don’t know if there is anything I can’t do to the Sima family?” He leaned forward slightly, stared into the Queen Mother’s eyes, and whispered: “Mother, do you know? , I don’t want Sima Wanqiong to enter the palace, not because I want to disobey the queen mother’s will, nor because I have any dissatisfaction with Sima Wanqiong, this is entirely to protect the Sima family.”
"Protect the Sima family?"
Longtai sighed: "The queen mother is in the deep palace, so she may not know the thoughts of the ministers in the court. In fact, many people are dissatisfied with the Duke of Jin Fengzhen. If I make Sima Wanqiong the queen again, the Sima family will It will become the target of public criticism and will be harmful to the Sima family, and my mother should know this better than I do."
The Queen Mother sneered: "Who dares to talk nonsense and be dissatisfied with the emperor's marriage?"
"Does the Queen Mother want everyone to think that the Sima family has become a powerful official?" Longtai said lightly.
The Queen Mother's face changed slightly and she immediately said: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
Longtai said: "It's not what I mean, but what the ministers in the court mean. Queen mother, if you really want Sima Wanqiong to enter the palace, I won't stop you. I can make her your concubine, but this queen The position has been decided at the court meeting. This time I go to Dong Qi to propose marriage. Once successful, the only way for the princess of Dong Qi to come to my country is to become the queen."
"What if the marriage proposal fails?" the Queen Mother asked, "Who will the Emperor choose as his queen?"
"Could it be that the Queen Mother hopes that this marriage proposal will fail?" Longtai stared into the Queen Mother's eyes with gleaming eyes.
The Queen Mother's body trembled slightly, and she finally said: "Since the Emperor's holy will has been decided, I will say no more. As the Queen Mother of Chu, I know that there are some things that the Emperor does not like to hear, but thinking of the late Emperor's favor for me, so Only then will I take the trouble. I have already said what I need to say. If the emperor is willing to listen, you can listen. If you don’t want to listen, I will not force you." He said no more, turned around and left.
When the Queen Mother walked away, Qi Ning came out from behind the bookshelf, walked over and said softly: "Your Majesty, it seems that this level has been passed."
Longtai smiled coldly, then sighed and said: "She was not like this before. After my biological mother passed away, my father made her his queen and gave me to her care. In fact... she used to be kind to me. I still remember that I used to be weak and often sick. Whenever I got sick, she would hold me in her arms, tell me stories, and coax me to sleep...!" When she said this, her voice was full of sighs.
"Your Majesty, maybe the Queen Mother just hopes that the Sima family can prosper." Qi Ning whispered: "She didn't think too much about it. She didn't understand that once the Sima family became too powerful, it would pose a threat to the imperial court."
Longtai was silent for a moment, and finally said: "Qining, this time when you go to Dong Qi, you must negotiate the marriage. You heard it just now. If the marriage with Dong Qi cannot be frank, then the Sima family must bring up old matters again." , I am afraid that I will be forced to make Sima Wanqiong the queen."
"Your Majesty, I dare not give a complete guarantee, but I will do my best." Qi Ning said solemnly.
Longtai smiled slightly and said, "I'm going to rely on you now." After a pause, he said, "Yes, when you arrive in Dongqi, if you have the opportunity, you can spend more time with Linghu Xu, and I will have someone specially come to Linghu Xu is preparing a generous gift, and you can send it to him privately."
"Linghu Xu?"
Long Tai slapped his forehead, smiled and whispered: "I almost forgot, you fake Jin Yihou, naturally you don't know who Linghu Xu is." He motioned Qining to come closer, and whispered: "Although the Eastern Qi Kingdom is a national He is a small man, but he has two top talents. Without these two people, the Eastern Qi Kingdom would have ceased to exist."
"The emperor is talking about the Eastern Qi Double Bibi?" Qi Ning heard Lu Xiao mention it at the court meeting.
Longtai nodded and said: "One general and one prime minister, Dong Qi twins. Linghu Xu is the prime minister of Dong Qi, Shen Tuluo is the commander-in-chief of Dong Qi Navy, and is the first general of Dong Qi. The Dong Qi Navy can be what it is today. Thanks to Shentu Luo, this man was extremely brave. His father, Shen Tubei, built the Eastern Qi Navy back then, but no one took it seriously at the time." After thinking about it, he explained: "Back then, the Beitang family usurped the throne and became independent. Song Yu, the prefect of Qingzhou, raised an army to resist Beitang. The Han army attacked Qingzhou with 50,000 troops. Song Yu only had 20,000 soldiers and horses. He was defeated by the Han army and suffered all losses. At the critical moment, Shen Tubei's navy copied the waterway. , cut off the logistics of the Han army, and the Han army was disorganized. Song Yu once again defended the city of King Lu. In the end, the Han army had no choice but to withdraw, and was subsequently killed by the Eastern Qi, causing heavy losses. From this battle, the Eastern Qi navy became famous all over the world. Shen Tu was sad After his death, the eldest son Shentu Luo inherited the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, making the Eastern Qi Navy even more powerful than when his father had."
Qi Ning asked: "Your Majesty, when you go to Dong Qi, why do you only bring generous gifts to Linghu Xu? Doesn't Shen Tuluo need to take care of it?"
Longtai said: "Do you know who Linghu Xu is?"
"Isn't he the Prime Minister of Eastern Qi?"
"That's right." Long Tai smiled and said, "In addition, he is also Mr. Zhuo Qingyangzhuo's younger brother. The two used to go to school together and have a good friendship."